The idea is to squeeze over-the-air television, which has few viewers, into a smaller slice of the airwaves. Anything freed would be available for bidding by companies, including wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

Broadcasters will need to decide whether they want to give up their frequencies. Those that do could continue to operate as cable-only channels if they don't want to go out of business. Bidding for freed airwaves likely won't begin until late 2013 or early 2014, partly to give bidders time to raise money to pay for any spectrum they win.

Although vast swaths of broadcast spectrum were freed when television signals converted from analog to digital in 2009, much of that has already been claimed. Technology companies have been clamoring for even more airwaves to satisfy growing consumer appetite for movies, books and websites on mobile devices.

About 11 million households lack cable or satellite service and get TV signals only over the air, according to Nielsen. That compares with 89 million who are cable or satellite subscribers.

There are more than 330 million devices active on cellular networks, which could benefit from the transfer of the spectrum.

The FCC envisions freeing up 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next 10 years. As much as a quarter of that could come from television.

The National Association of Broadcasters isn't sure how many stations would go along, and it's watching to make sure no broadcaster will be forced to participate. Some might have to move to a different frequency, such as from Channel 49 to Channel 19, but they would be compensated to build new towers and make other adjustments. Viewers using antennas would have to find the station's new home.

Television stations once had Channels 2 to 83, except for 37, which is used for astronomy. Channels 70 to 83, mostly used to retransmit signals from other channels, disappeared in the 1980s and have been reassigned to other uses. Stations gave up Channels 52 to 69 in 2009 as part of a transition to digital broadcasts, and much of that has already been reassigned. Depending on how many stations want to participate, Channels 31 to 51, excluding 37, could be freed up.

(AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission is opening up unused airwaves between television channels for wireless broadband networks that will be more powerful and can reach farther than today's Wi-Fi hotspots.

On the theory that a driver who knows when a red light will turn green is more relaxed and aware, vehicle manufacturer Audi is unveiling this week in Las Vegas a technology that enables vehicles to "read" traffic signals ...

There you are, cruising down the freeway, listening to some tunes and enjoying the view as your autonomous car zips and swerves through traffic. Then the fun ends and it becomes time take over the wheel. How smooth is that ...

I say it's a good move. Broadcast TV is becoming increasingly anachronistic with the proliferation of on-demand internet services and alternative viewing platforms. Not to mention how much of what's broadcast is total rubbish, but that's a value judgement.

However, I can also see a looming problem with increased mobile spectrum/speeds. Mobile devices will increasingly start using streaming and p2p services, which will lead to more congestion and the need for more bandwidth. Already a bittorrent client is in development for the Android platform...

I say it's a good move. Broadcast TV is becoming increasingly anachronistic with the proliferation of on-demand internet services and alternative viewing platforms. Not to mention how much of what's broadcast is total rubbish, but that's a value judgement.

However, I can also see a looming problem with increased mobile spectrum/speeds. Mobile devices will increasingly start using streaming and p2p services, which will lead to more congestion and the need for more bandwidth. Already a bittorrent client is in development for the Android platform...

The FCC should consider the quality of broadcast content, which is much higher than social networking content anyway you cut it. We are going to surrender NOVA and NCIS and Law and Order and all that great programming just so that kids can text garbage and send questionable images?

I made my own HDTV antenna and bought a cheap converter so I don't have to pay for cable. I don't want to pay for cable. Watching commercials is payment enough, and they're not going away.